Wednesday, May 28, 2008

HISTORY OF TRECE MARTIRES CITY

Trece Martires City is a young city. As of May 24, this year (1984), it became 30 years old. It was established on May 24, 1954 under Republic Act No. 981 entitled "The Charter of Trece Martires City," approved by the late President Ramon Magsaysay. It owes its existence to three distinguished Cavitenos; namely, Congressman Jose T. Cajulis (1954-1957), who actually introduced House Bill 1795 which became Republic Act No. 981; Senator Justiniano S. Montano (1949-1956), then Cavite’s political kingpin, whim inspired it; and his son, Governor Delfin M. Montano (1956-1971), under whose long term the city charter was amended twice, making Trece Martires City what it is today

Under the city charter, Governor Montano was the ex-officio city mayor of Trece Martires city for 16 years. He "inherited" it from its first ex-officio city mayor, Ating Governor Dominador Mangubat, when it was barely one year old. When his term expired in 1971, the new city was pretty well in its teens (127), the capitol standing in its solitary grandeur and lording it over a vast area, its territorial limits extending "ten kilometers from its heart in all ditrections of the compass."

Trece Martires City became the provincial capital, it is interesting to note, in three stages. First, under Republic Act No. 981 the new city comprised a territory not exceeding one thousand hectares, located at or near the intersection of the Tanza-Indang Road and the Naik-Dasmarinas Road in the province of Cavite.

Second, in June 223, 1957 the original act was amended by Republic Act 1912 increasing its territory to 3,917 hectares. Consequently, the municipalities of Indang and General Trias has to yield parts of their respective areas to this territorial expansion.

Finally, on April 7, 1959 Republic Act 2130 was approved by the Congress of the Philippines giving Trece Martires City administrative jurisdiction over 100-meter strip of land along and including four national roads radiating from the city of Tanza, Indang, Matanda, and Tres Cruces Dams, thus stretching the territorial limits by ten kilometers all around.

Governor Montano chose to hold his inauguration as Cavite’s provincial governor and ex-officio city mayor of Trece Martirez City on January 1, 1956, coinciding with the inauguration also of the new provincial capitol. This double inuguration served to emphasize the significance of the birth of the third and newest city of Cavite from which radiates the highest political and administrative power and influence in the province. That the city was named after the 13 Caviteno who were executed by the Spaniards shortly after the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution is indicative of the message that the people of the province hope and expect it to carry out – a message of redemption from bondage to freedom, peace and prosperity.